Destination Responses to COVID-19 Waves: Is “Green Zone” Initiative a Holy Grail for Tourism Recovery?

Abstract

Despite the stagnant status of the tourism industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the efforts to reopen the tourism destinations as green zones in Vietnam have paid off with some encouraging achievements. This inspires other green zones to consider a more adaptive approach to the ongoing pandemic crisis. However, little is known about the pandemic crisis management and tourism destination recovery. Therefore, this study selected Can Tho city as a case study to explore how a tourism destination as a green zone can recover during pandemic waves. Different methods were utilized in this study, including document analysis, field observation, and semi-structured interview. The findings generally indicate that a green zone could recover their tourism business under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings highlight the critical relationship among key stakeholders and the leading role of the central government toward pandemic prevention and control. The early response to the crisis from the local governments was found to be decisive, and the policy-related measures facilitated the removal of potential barriers and alleviated the crisis consequences. In addition, the involvement of the tourism industry in an adaptive way has contributed to the quick recovery of the green zones’ tourism business. Importantly, the adaptive transformation from the tourism enterprises in a visionary way was found to be essential to the empowerment of their organizational resilience during the pandemic crisis. The lessons learnt from this study also bring valuable experiences for other tourism destinations and elicit a new approach to co-living with the ongoing pandemic in a sustainable way. Theoretically, this study provides a better understanding of tourism management and destination recovery during the global pandemic crisis. In addition, the research also adds many important practical implications for the tourism industry and the related stakeholders to foster tourism revitalization during and after the pandemic in a more sustainable way.

Carrying capacity of mangrove ecotourism area in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta, Indonesia

“…The site's popularity often results in concentrated visitor gatherings, which, if continuous, can lead to environmental degradation. Zoning based on the nature of tourism activities is expected to alleviate congestion, a particularly relevant strategy during pandemics, aiding in the path to pandemic recovery (Huynh et al 2022). Furthermore, the division of visitor activities within the area can enhance tourists' appreciation of the natural beauty of the site, ultimately elevating overall trip satisfaction.…”

Tourism and COVID-19 in China: recovery and resilience strategies of main Chinese tourism cities

“…Similarly, Yu et al (2021) advocated the utilization of digital passenger contact tracing and strong nonpharmaceutical preventions, especially in controlling the pandemic diffusion brought by international travels in the case of Hongkong city. Out of China, Huynh, Duong, Truong, & Nguyen (2022) analyzed Can Tho city (Vietnam) and concluded the relevance of proper crisis preparedness, proactive and adaptive management over the global pandemic, after observing the negative effects of the overload of healthcare system and ineffective governmental response in some waves during the pandemic.…”

“…in the case of Macao region (China), Hongkong city (China) and Can Tho city (Vietnam), emphasizing the governmental support in mobility supervision, disinfection, distancing, etc. (Im, Lam, & Ma, 2021; Huynh, Duong, Truong, & Nguyen, 2022; Yu et al , 2021). However, these prevention measures referred to the first wave and recovery stage (Im, Lam, & Ma, 2021; Yu et al , 2021), mainly during 2020 which might be considered outdated, because the pandemic covers a longer period with different intensity in its multiple stages that may demand different responses.…”

“…However, these prevention measures referred to the first wave and recovery stage (Im, Lam, & Ma, 2021; Yu et al , 2021), mainly during 2020 which might be considered outdated, because the pandemic covers a longer period with different intensity in its multiple stages that may demand different responses. In addition, most of these policies proved ineffective due to the delayed local application (Huynh, Duong, Truong, & Nguyen, 2022). Also, previous studies in tourism recovery research on tourism cities mainly shed light on the construction of sustainable city branding and responsibility, especially in European destinations and Australian cities (Bosone, Nocca, & Fusco Girard, 2021; Jiricka-Pürrer, Brandenburg, & Pröbstl-Haider, 2021; Kowalczyk-Aniol, Grochowicz, & Pawlusinski, 2021; Pasquinelli, Trunfio, Bellini, & Rossi, 2022), being scarcer the studies carried out on Chinese cities and destinations.…”

The future of sports tourism in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic – Developing a new paradigm model

“…Many saw the COVID-19 pandemic as a trigger to change the existing business model and restart tourism in a more sustainable and resilient way that would prioritize local and domestic instead of international, highlight pro-environmental behavior of tourists and promote sustainable tourism practices (Cave and Dredge, 2020;Higgins-Desbiolles et al, 2022;Sheldon, 2020;Vu et al, 2022). A wide range of practical measures are being considered within a tourism value chain to stimulate tourism demand and facilitate destinations' capacity to meet postpandemic tourist expectations (Dias et al, 2022;Huynh et al, 2022;Seyito glu and Costa, 2022). This discussion can be translated to sports tourism, which is one of the most important areas of tourism and a source of huge income for its stakeholders.…”